Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, January 14, 2007

With its NFL football coverage, CBS takes an easy Sunday night win. Desperate Housewives posts lower than average numbers, NBC’s realities dip significantly and Crossing Jordan gets off to a very slow start. 24 starts off very strong.

CBS finished in first place for the evening with a 13.6/20 household rating, 22.30 million total viewers and a 7.0/16 rating among adults 18-49.

Last Week:

8.2/12 HH rating [#2]

12.50M viewers [#3]

2.9/7 A18-49rating [#4]

Note: Due to the late-ending NFL game (which aired to about 8:20 p.m. ET), these preliminary numbers are sure to change, and hard to seperate because of late starts for certain episodes. Because of this, time-period numbers, not necessarily program numbers, are shown.

7:00 p.m.: The first hour of NFL Overrun (20.0/31 HH rating, 33.65M viewers, 11.8/30 A18-49 rating) gave CBS a boost which would last throughout the evening, as the network easily won every hour of the night.

8:00 p.m.: The combination of the late-ending NFL game and 60 Minutes (15.3/22 HH rating, 25.01M viewers, 8.1/19 A18-49 rating) again proved too much for any competitor to match.

9:00 p.m.: The end of 60 Minutes and the beginning of a new Cold Case (9.8/14 HH rating, 16.18M viewers, 3.9/8 A18-49 rating) started to decrease some in viewers, as the leftover NFL audience began to navigate away.

10:00 p.m.: The end of Cold Case and the beginning of a new Without a Trace (9.2/15 HH rating, 14.36M viewers, 4.1/10 A18-49 rating) provided more common Sunday night numbers for the network.

ABC followed in second place for the evening with a 7.5/11 household rating but was second among total viewers (11.96 million) and among adults 18-49 (4.5/10 rating).

Last Week:

8.0/12 HH rating [#2]

13.09/M viewers [#2]

4.8/11 A18-49 rating [#3]

7:00 PM: Starting off the evening for ABC was a new America’s Funniest Home Videos (4.6/7 HH rating, 7.81M viewers, 2.3/6 A18-49 rating) which held firm from the week prior in the face of stiff competition from football on CBS.

Week-to-week numbers:

Households – 4.8/7 to 4.6/7

Viewers – 8.25M to 7.81M

A18-49 – 2.4/6 to 2.3/6

8:00 PM: A new Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (6.6/10 HH rating, 10.85M viewers, 4.0/9 A18-49 rating) slid down in face of competition from the other nets. It was down 2.58M viewers, 14% among households and 22% among adults 18-49 from the week prior.

Week-to-week numbers:

Households – 7.7/11 to 6.6/10

Viewers – 13.43M to 10.85M

A18-49 – 5.1/11 to 4.0/9

9:00 PM: A new Desperate Housewives (10.6/15 HH rating, 16.71M viewers, 6.8/15 A18-49 rating) went down yet again. Sliding an additional 1.91M viewers, 9% among households and 7% among adults 18-49 from last week’s already too low numbers to a new series low. Given the stiff competition on the night, I guess some slide should be expected, but the show is way off from its usual season numbers. Good news is audience among adults 18-49 is still very high and the show did still manage to win the hour.

Episode-to-episode numbers:

Households – 11.7/17 to 10.6/15

Viewers – 18.62M to 16.71M

A18-49 – 7.3/16 to 6.8/15

10:00 PM: Which brings us to a new Brothers & Sisters (8.0/13 HH rating, 12.46M viewers, 4.8/12 A18-49 rating). Interestingly enough, this wonderful series (one of my favorites) actually increased its audience from the week prior, putting up some of its strongest retention numbers to date out of its lead-in. (Obviously due to the weakened DH, but significant none the less).

Episode-to-episode numbers:

Households – 8.0/13 to 8.2/13

Viewers – 12.06M to 12.46M

A18-49 – 4.6/11 to 4.8/12

Fox finished in third place for the evening with a 6.8/10 household rating, but was second among total viewers (11.97 million) and adults 18-49 (4.7/11 rating).

8:00 PM: The first hour of the season six premiere of 24 (8.4/12 HH rating, 15.12M viewers, 5.7/12 A18-49 rating) was off from last year’s first hour, but there is a reason for that. Last year, the show got a great lead-in, the NFL playoff game between the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. Continue reading for more analysis of the show.

Year-to-year numbers (first hour — 8:00 p.m. on January 15, 2006)

Households – 10.1/15 to 8.4/12

Viewers – 17.01M to 15.12M

Adults 18-49 – 7.3/15 to 5.7/12

9:00 PM: The second hour of 24 (9.1/13 HH rating, 16.25M viewers, 6.3/14 A18-49 rating) picked up steam, and actually increased its audience over the same time period last year (check numbers below). I’d say this was a very strong start to the new year of 24 as numbers were pretty even from last year, with the exception of adults 18-49 (down 14%).

Year-to-year numbers (second hour — 8:00 p.m. on January 15, 2006)

Households – 8.9/13 to 9.1/13

Viewers – 15.48M to 16.25M

A18-49 – 6.7/14 to 6.3/14

Year-to-year numbers (first two hours — January 15, 2006):

Households – 9.5/14 to 8.7/13

Viewers – 16.24M to 15.68M

A18-49 – 7.0/15 to 6.0/13

NBC followed in fourth place for the evening with a 4.9/7 household rating, 7.85 million total viewers and a 2.5/6 rating among adults 18-49.

Last Week:

6.3/10 HH rating [#3]

10.27M viewers [#3]

3.8/9 A18-49 rating [#2]

7:00 p.m.: Beginning the evening for the peacock was a new episode of Deal or No Deal (5.6/9 HH rating, 9.23M viewers, 2.3/6 A18-49 rating), which like all other programs on the evening experienced a dip from the week prior due to the added competition. Losses were most significant among adults 18-49.

Week-to-week numbers:

Households -6.2/9 to 5.6/9

Viewers – 10.04M to 9.23M

A18-49 – 2.8/7 to 2.3/6

8:00 p.m.: The second week of Grease: You’re the One That I Want (6.9/10 HH rating, 8.19M viewers, 2.7/6 A18-49 rating) took a nosedive in its second week, shedding 3.40M viewers, 29% among households and an even more depressing 35% among adults 18-49.

Week-to-week numbers:

Households – 6.9/10 to 4.9/7

Viewers – 11.59M to 8.19M

A18-49 – 4.3/10 to 2.8/6

9:00 p.m.: That was followed by the second week of The Apprentice: Los Angeles (4.7/7 HH rating, 9.11M viewers, 4.1/10 A18-49 rating) which also had to settle for a loss of audience, though not as severe as its lead-in. Still though, losses of 1.82M viewers, 17% among households and 32% among adults 18-49 is nothing to be pleased about.

Week-to-week numbers:

Households – 5.7/9 to 4.7/7

Viewers – 9.11M to 7.29M

A18-49 – 4.1/10 to 2.8/6

10:00 p.m.: Even with the decreased competition in the 10:00 p.m. hour, the season premiere of Crossing Jordan (4.4/7 HH rating, 6.67M viewers, 2.2/5 A18-49 rating) seemed to have gotten lost, delivering very low ratings for a season premiere, and way off (-6.41M viewers, -49% among households and -39% among adults 18-49) from where the show started last season. It certainly seems like NBC made a mistake in premiering the show so late in the season. (Check below for season premiere comparisons, as well as a comparable year-to-year performance).

Season premiere numbers (9/25/2005):

Households – 8.6/14 to 4.4/7

Viewers – 13.08M to 6.67M

A18-49 – 3.6/8 to 2.2/5

Year-to-year numbers (1/15/2006):

Households – 7.0/10 to 4.4/7

Viewers – 10.83M to 6.67M

A18-49 – 3.6/8 to 2.2/5

The CW was left then in fifth place with a 1.6/2 household rating and 2.58 million total viewers from their repeat lineup. Among adults 18-49, the new network also finished in fifth place with a 1.0/2 rating.